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UBS Resolves Legacy French Tax Matter With Nearly $987M Settlement
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Key Takeaways
{\"0\":\"UBS will pay $862.7 million in fines and $124.1 million in damages to settle the French tax case.\",\"1\":\"The dispute stemmed from cross-border business activities between 2004 and 2012.\",\"2\":\"The settlement follows years of appeals and reduced penalties from earlier rulings\\r\\n\"}
UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) has agreed to pay €835 million ($986.8 million) to resolve a long-running French tax case concerning its cross-border business activities between 2004 and 2012.
On Sept. 23, 2025, the bank announced that it would pay a €730 million ($862.7 million) fine and €105 million ($124.1 million) in civil damages to the French state. UBS stated that the matter is fully provisioned and its resolution is consistent with the company’s strategy of addressing legacy issues in the best interests of its stakeholders.
History of UBS’s French Tax Case
The French tax case dates back more than a decade. In February 2019, a French trial court found UBS guilty of illicit client solicitation and laundering the proceeds of tax fraud. The bank was ordered to pay a record €3.7 billion ($4.4 billion) fine and €800 million ($945.4 million) in civil damages. UBS strongly contested the ruling, claiming the conviction lacked evidence and the court applied French law to activities that took place in Switzerland.
In December 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict but reduced some penalties. The fine was lowered to €3.75 million ($4.43 million), while the court added €1 billion ($1.18 billion) in confiscations and kept the €800 million ($945.4 million) in damages. UBS appealed this ruling. In November 2023, the French Supreme Court definitively confirmed the guilty verdict for unlawful solicitation and aggravated money laundering. The matter was then sent back to the Paris Court of Appeal for reassessment, which ultimately led to the 2025 settlement.
Other Regulatory Probes Faced by UBS
Apart from the French tax case, UBS has also settled other regulatory matters in recent years. In August 2025, UBS agreed to pay $300 million to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle a legacy matter tied to Credit Suisse’s mortgage-backed securities business. Earlier, in May 2025, UBS paid $511 million to resolve a DOJ tax probe into Credit Suisse’s role in helping U.S. clients evade taxes through offshore accounts.
Separately, in August 2023, UBS itself paid $1.44 billion to settle mortgage-related misconduct linked to the 2008 financial crisis. Thus, UBS needs to keep improving its compliance practices as it is still dealing with heavy legal costs from Credit Suisse.
UBS’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance
Over the past six months, UBS Group shares have gained 25.0% outperforming the industry’s 22.4% growth.
In August 2025, Deutsche Bank AG (DB - Free Report) was fined HK$23.8 million ($3.05 million) by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for multiple regulatory breaches, including fee overcharging, misclassification of product risk and failure to disclose investment banking relationships in research reports.
The disciplinary action stems from investigations triggered by DB’s self-reports submitted between December 2020 and December 2023. The SFC found that between November 2015 and November 2023, the bank overcharged clients approximately $39 million in management and custodian fees. These overcharges resulted from failure to apply discounted fee rates and misstatements in fund valuations.
In the same month, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) agreed to pay $330 million to settle ongoing and potential claims associated with the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
The settlement was announced as Swiss regulators, in a separate action, found JPM guilty and imposed a fine for its failure to prevent money laundering in transactions associated with 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
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UBS Resolves Legacy French Tax Matter With Nearly $987M Settlement
Key Takeaways
UBS Group AG (UBS - Free Report) has agreed to pay €835 million ($986.8 million) to resolve a long-running French tax case concerning its cross-border business activities between 2004 and 2012.
On Sept. 23, 2025, the bank announced that it would pay a €730 million ($862.7 million) fine and €105 million ($124.1 million) in civil damages to the French state. UBS stated that the matter is fully provisioned and its resolution is consistent with the company’s strategy of addressing legacy issues in the best interests of its stakeholders.
History of UBS’s French Tax Case
The French tax case dates back more than a decade. In February 2019, a French trial court found UBS guilty of illicit client solicitation and laundering the proceeds of tax fraud. The bank was ordered to pay a record €3.7 billion ($4.4 billion) fine and €800 million ($945.4 million) in civil damages. UBS strongly contested the ruling, claiming the conviction lacked evidence and the court applied French law to activities that took place in Switzerland.
In December 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict but reduced some penalties. The fine was lowered to €3.75 million ($4.43 million), while the court added €1 billion ($1.18 billion) in confiscations and kept the €800 million ($945.4 million) in damages. UBS appealed this ruling. In November 2023, the French Supreme Court definitively confirmed the guilty verdict for unlawful solicitation and aggravated money laundering. The matter was then sent back to the Paris Court of Appeal for reassessment, which ultimately led to the 2025 settlement.
Other Regulatory Probes Faced by UBS
Apart from the French tax case, UBS has also settled other regulatory matters in recent years. In August 2025, UBS agreed to pay $300 million to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle a legacy matter tied to Credit Suisse’s mortgage-backed securities business. Earlier, in May 2025, UBS paid $511 million to resolve a DOJ tax probe into Credit Suisse’s role in helping U.S. clients evade taxes through offshore accounts.
Separately, in August 2023, UBS itself paid $1.44 billion to settle mortgage-related misconduct linked to the 2008 financial crisis. Thus, UBS needs to keep improving its compliance practices as it is still dealing with heavy legal costs from Credit Suisse.
UBS’s Zacks Rank and Price Performance
Over the past six months, UBS Group shares have gained 25.0% outperforming the industry’s 22.4% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
UBS currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Legal Issues Faced by Other Finance Firms
In August 2025, Deutsche Bank AG (DB - Free Report) was fined HK$23.8 million ($3.05 million) by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for multiple regulatory breaches, including fee overcharging, misclassification of product risk and failure to disclose investment banking relationships in research reports.
The disciplinary action stems from investigations triggered by DB’s self-reports submitted between December 2020 and December 2023. The SFC found that between November 2015 and November 2023, the bank overcharged clients approximately $39 million in management and custodian fees. These overcharges resulted from failure to apply discounted fee rates and misstatements in fund valuations.
In the same month, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) agreed to pay $330 million to settle ongoing and potential claims associated with the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund.
The settlement was announced as Swiss regulators, in a separate action, found JPM guilty and imposed a fine for its failure to prevent money laundering in transactions associated with 1Malaysia Development Berhad.